School Pictures

Kendall, Lynnsey, and Spencer got their school pictures back the other day. I always dread getting them because you just never know how they are going to turn out. We usually end up getting retakes of at least one child. But this year they came out alright. Kendall always takes a great picture no matter what. I really wasn't worried about him at all.

Lynnsey thought about getting retakes because she doesn't like that she's hunched over being shy. But then she decided she liked her smile a lot and the bow in her hair so she decided we should keep them after all.Spencer's crack me up. I had told him the day of pictures to make sure to look right at the photographer and smile. (He has a tendency to turn his head for pictures or look out of the corner of his eye). When he got his pictures, he was so proud of himself for how wide his eyes were and how he was looking straight ahead. He most definitely did open his eyes wide and look ahead. Too cute.

Taylor missed his pictures completely. The teacher who was supposed to hand out the order envelopes forgot about it so an entire class wound up having no idea about it being picture day. Taylor was wearing one of his rattiest t-shirts that day and didn't think to call me and have me bring a change of clothes or money for the pictures. Oh well. Retakes are this week so we'll have to make sure we get those done.

Just What We Need: Another Specialist

Last night I had a visit from my wonderful visiting teachers and we were talking about differences in raising boys and girls. One of my teachers remarked: "Plus, your boys are the ones who get all the problems. The girls are so healthy". I agreed completely. Taylor, who has Sensory Processing Disorder has had to see both a behavioral and an occupational therapist. Kendall, with his congenital heart problems, regularly visits his pediatric cardiologist. And Spencer who has life-threatening food allergies and asthma gets to visit a pediatric allergist. But Lynnsey and Kaya have only ever had to see their regular doctor and usually only then for check-ups.

Until today. I had to take Kaya in for a recheck of her ears since she had an infection a couple of weeks ago. I thought it would be a quick in and out and on with our lives. As it turns out, not only was her ear still infected but so was the other one--and both are severely infected. It started back in October just before Kalen and Kaya's trip to Utah. Kaya had a runny nose and a low grade fever but otherwise seemed fine. But since she was going to be traveling, I decided we'd just get her checked out. It was good that I did because she did have a mild ear infection. The doctor actually debated whether or not to give us antibiotics but since Kaya was going to be flying, she decided we'd better do it. She gave her amoxicillin. When they came back from the trip, Kaya had a bad cough. We let it go for awhile because she had just finished up the antibiotics so we assumed it was just another cold and would go away. It didn't. Another trip to the doctor and she was diagnosed with bronchitis plus her one ear was still a bit red. This time it was Zithromax. We finished that round and her cough improved somewhat but didn't go away entirely. Then a few days after the antibiotics were completed, the cough was back with a vengeance. Back to the doctor we went and we were told she still had bronchitis and that it probably hadn't ever gone away completely. Also, her ear was very infected at that visit. This time she gave us another antibiotic, the name of which I can't really remember. We set up an appointment then for two weeks to have the ear rechecked. We finished up that round of antibiotics and really thought that would be the end of it when we went in today. Nope. With both ears now very inflamed, the doctor thinks it will be best if we visit an ENT to see whether we should continue antibiotics or look at putting tubes in Kaya's ears. They tried to get us in this week but the ENT's office said it would most likely not be until the week after Thanksgiving that we can be seen. So the doctor, not wanting to leave the ear infection untreated for that long, gave Kaya an antibiotic injection that supposedly will tide her over until we can have her seen by the ENT. Poor baby. That shot was a bad one too because it's a thick medication so they have to use a pretty big needle. It took both me and the doctor to hold Kaya down while the nurse stuck that big fat needle in her little leg. The crazy thing about all this is, that Kaya seems well! If she has a fever with it, it is so mild that I don't even notice she's warm. Her sleeping is good. Her appetite is fantastic. She plays and smiles and is generally her normal happy self. You would never know that she had anything as miserable as bronchitis and ear infections going on. Anyway, so I guess she will now get to join the ranks of our children who have to see specialists. Luckily this is for something relatively common and shouldn't have to be a continual thing. I'll update once we get in to see this guy.

And here's a completely unrelated thing. As I am typing this, Spencer has been in here jabbering away at me and he just said: "Mommy, I just always want to live here. But also I want to go to Pennsylvania. That's such a funny place huh? That's because it has the word Pencil in it. That's how come I want to go to Pencilvania." I could listen to him talk all day!

Swinging With His Eyes Closed

The following is another interesting conversation that I had with Spencer yesterday as I was pushing him on the swingset:

Spencer: I'm swinging with my eyes closed!
Mommy: Really? What does that feel like?

Spencer: It feels like I'm heading off to dreamland. Or like I'm going to fly up and crash into the tree.

Mommy: (laughing) You are so funny. I'll have to write that down.
Spencer: Yeah, that would be good. And also I feel like I'm gonna land in the garden or the compost. Is that funny too? Are you gonna write that down?
Mommy: If I can remember it all I will.

Spencer: Yeah. Try to remember because that is so funny to write down. Only if you do write it down, do not send it to school with me to give to my teacher because I do not know what she will think about me then.

This and That

*Yesterday I did something that it has been way too long since I last did. I played with my kids. And I mean I really played with them. Sure, I take them outside everyday and push them on the swings again and again and again. I follow behind them when they ride bikes. I keep an eye on them when I'm weeding the flower beds and they are playing nearby. I sit and do puzzles or board games with them indoors and I'm usually near to participate in a tea party or race a car along a track. Most people watching would think I do a pretty good job at playing with my kids. But if you want to know the truth, most of the time that I'm "playing" with them, I am thinking about the other things I should be doing or planning things in my head like my primary lesson or figuring out how I can get to the bank, the post office, and the grocery store all before 5:00. I'm just not very engaged with the kids a lot of the time. But yesterday, I looked out the window to see that Kendall had set up a little soccer field on the lawn and he and Lynnsey and Spencer were playing soccer. I watched for a long time because it was so fantastic to see them playing so well together and having such a good time. They would even do a group hug every time one of them scored a goal. But after watching for awhile, I suddenly wanted to PLAY too! I went out and asked if I could join them. They looked at each other in surprise but agreed that I could play. It was so much fun. FUN I tell you! At one point Lynnsey sighed happily and said: "You need to do this more often." And I really do. My new goal is to really play everyday with my kids no matter what we're doing. I will pay attention and be engaged with them. Thinking about the laundry while I'm playing a board game doesn't get the laundry done, so I just need to stop thinking about it and enjoy all the time I have with my children.

I didn't get pictures of the soccer match, (by the way, Kendall says I have a great drop kick, thank you), but I do have some cute pictures of Kaya and Spencer playing with the box of tinker toys that my dad gave us a couple of years ago. This set has had the most use of just about any of our toys. All of the kids play with it. The other night while I was trying to get Kaya to go to sleep she wiggled down and went into the other room, which was completely dark. I heard the box of tinker toys being dumped out and a few minutes later she came back with a little creation that she had put together in the dark. I don't know how she managed to get those skinny sticks into those tiny holes, but she can do it.

*We had parent teacher conferences last week and they all went well. I managed to visit with all 6 of Taylor's teachers this year so that was good. They all said he was doing fantastically well. His science teacher told me that he is one of the most intelligent children she has taught in her nearly 40 years of teaching. Another teacher I talked with for all of 30 seconds. She said there is nothing she had to say to me because Taylor was the perfect student. He ended up with three A+'s and 3 A's and one A-. Kendall, who was nervous about what his teacher would tell me because he thinks he is not smart (kinda hard to follow a brother like Taylor), is also doing a phenomenal job. He had all A's with one B in Art which his regular teacher said was the grade that all her kids got from that teacher. I have lots of opinions about that art teacher but that's a post for another day. (Let's just say she is the teacher that wants things done exactly her way and allows for no creativity at all. My kids do not like her and I don't blame them.) Lynnsey in first grade doesn't get letter grades yet but she is also doing well and got all O's (outstanding) and S's (satisfactory) in all her subjects. Her teacher says she is really creative in her writing ability and that she is becoming a little math whiz. Go Lynnsey! (She didn't get the math talent from me!) And we even had a conference with Spencer's preschool teacher who raved about how far he has come since he started. He's been a little shy guy but she says he's finally coming around and starting to join some of the other kids in their play. He is getting better with his pencil grip and is now writing his name. He can recognize nearly all of his letters now and is very into counting and sorting. He also got all S's and a few O's. We're really proud of all the kids and all their hard work!

*Lynnsey recently lost another tooth but unfortunately the tooth fairy that comes to Michigan is a real scatterbrain. Lynnsey isn't the first of our kids to be devastated to wake up in the morning and see that there is still a tooth and no money under the pillow. I need to call someone about this because it is just unacceptable. Anyone else ever have tooth fairy troubles?

*Kaya is really beginning to talk a lot more. Some of her vocabulary includes: Mama, Dada, baba (bottle), ba (ball), baby, wa (water) and gagua (agua), no, gucka (sucker), angy (candy), go, ma (more), and done. She also mimics some of the other words we say too but hasn't used them on her own quite yet. This is always a favorite time of mine to watch their language taking off and see how they learn to communicate. She's such a cutie.

*I'm envious of my mom who is right now on a cross country train ride to go and help with my sister Susannah's brand new baby girl. I've always thought it would be fun to travel by train. And I'm just aching to see and hold that new baby!

*There's lots more day to day stuff happening but I smell a stinky diaper that needs attention and then I have to put together a quick lunch for Kaya and the little girl I babysit before we go and pick up Spencer from preschool. I'll try to do better at keeping things updated.

Trick or Treat, Gosh! (Plus some creepy crawlers and Doctor Who?)

Halloween is always a favorite around here. We especially love finding fun costumes and the past few years we've done a themed Halloween. But this year, with the recession and all, we decided to recycle some of our past costumes instead and let the kids do their own thing. It kind of worked out. Exept Lynnsey didn't want to not have a theme so since Kaya was going to use an old bumblebee costume, she thought that she and Spencer should do a bug theme with her. Fine except we didn't have a butterfly or spider costume so we ened up spending money for those. Kendall decided on Napoleon Dynamite which of course, we also didn't have. More money. Taylor, who is completely and totally obsessed with the BBC Doctor Who television series decided to be the Doctor. Again, no costume. More money. In the end, we should have gone with a theme. It may have been cheaper. Or maybe we should have turned to Kendall's skills at costume design. He spent half the day on Halloween designing costumes for some of the stuffed animals. From Right to Left: A Dementor Lion, Sith Lord Teddy Bear, Nephi the Husky, Lynnsey's Princess Puppy, a spotted Pirate Pup, and Superdog Maverick. Not too bad huh? My favorite was the pirate.

Friday night we had a great Trunk or Treat at church to which I neglected to bring my camera. The kids had a ball eating a kid-friendly dinner and participating in some really great carnival games including a cake walk in which you could play and win as many times as you want. And our kids did. And won. A lot. Anyone need some cupcakes or brownies? And then of course loading up their bags with junkfood is the best time ever! Kaya has discovered candy and can now be found chanting constantly: "Gucka, gucka!" (Sucker, if you can't tell). That night after we got home we tried to get the candy all out of her reach. But later, after getting the other kids in bed, I returned to find what she'd been up to during that time.

Of course, she got to keep the darn sucker. How am I supposed to resist that face?

Finally, the big night arrived and here are the fantastic costumes:

I warned Taylor that no one would know who he was. Would any of you know? I didn't think so. But even so, we did a great job at putting his costume together by copying a picture. (I did find a more authentic costume on eBay but even I draw a line at spending $165 dollars even though Taylor was begging for it. Seriously, the kid is addicted. I can totally see him at a Doctor Who convention someday. At least he'll have a costume!) I found his jacket at Goodwill and had to buy him a pair of brown pants online to match. He bought his Sonic Screwdriver with his own money because I suggested gluing a jewel on the end of a regular screwdriver from the tool box. Both Kalen and Taylor looked at me like they couldn't believe I would even dare suggest such a thing! (Yes, Kalen is the reason that Taylor is hooked on the show.) Taylor also made his police box tartis (sp?) to hold his candy in. We gelled his hair into a messy do, added tennis shoes, a dress shirt and tie and voila! He was The Doctor. I actually found myself doing a double take a few times because he really did look like the David Tennant character he was emulating. But no one knew who he was. Well, one person did. And a few others got it after a couple of hints. But mostly no one got it. Now, had he been in England...

Next is a kid with some pretty sweet skills. In addition to his costume designing skills, this kid does a great Napoleon Dynamite impersonation. We found his costume on eBay and there was no mistaking who this kid was dressed as. Right down to the moon boots and half-closed eyes. He even made his voice deeper and talked like Napoleon: "Give me some candy, gosh!"

Years ago I saw a cute idea in a magazine for a butterfly costume. I cut out the picture of the costume but neglected to cut out the directions. So for Lynnsey's costume, I ended up guessing my way through it. It turned out really cute though and she was thrilled. And chilled. The temperature was a brisk 40 degrees out that night so most of the time she kept her wings wrapped tightly around her and no one really knew what she was. When we visited her first grade teacher though, she wanted to take Lynnsey's picture and was so impressed with the costume that she asked her if she would be willing to wear it to class in the spring for their butterfly unit. Lynnsey was pretty excited about that. Mostly because it is bound to be warmer then!

At first Spencer wanted to be a caterpillar but I was having a really hard time finding an affordable costume on eBay. So he decided to be a scary spider instead. I found lots of spider costumes but most of them looked really kind of dumb to me. I was pretty sure he didn't want a costume with a top hat and bow tie with white gloves on all of his hands. I found a cute Pottery Barn costume though--for around $50. So I gave up on that until I saw one that was identical to the Pottery Barn costume but the lady who listed it said the tags had been removed so she wasn't sure what the brand name was and listed it for much, much, much less. I bought it. Spencer loved it. Even if he looked more adorable than scary.

And Kaya was the easiest of all. Kendall wore this costume when he was little and I hung onto it but because of our other themed Halloween's no one else ever got to wear it. It seemed fitting that our busiest bee of all got to have a turn in it. She hates having anything on her head so she wasn't a fan of this costume, but after being out in the cold I think she decided it was better to keep the hood on.

I tried to get a picture of the group right before we headed out trick-or-treating but Kaya was trying to escape and everyone was just anxious to be going, so this is the best we could do:

We had a fun time but hurried through it and didn't go to as many houses as usual because Spencer was only just recovered from the flu and wound up getting exhausted early on. But apparently the people we did visit were incredibly generous with their treats. Multiply generous times five kids and our usual community candy bowl became a community candy 5 gallon bucket!

Isn't that insane? (And guess what I do every time I walk past that blasted thing?)

We made sure to count out the "tithing candy" for our branch president's office again this year. He ended up with a good sized bag of candy. But it barely made a dent in the bucket:

(And yes, that is Kaya in the background sneaking more "Gucka's). It's a great object lesson on how little ten percent really is. And now we'll be eating candy till Christmas. Or at least until next week at the rate I'm going... Hope you all had a great Halloween too!

Fall Fun

Fall in Michigan is very beautiful. I love the brilliant colors and crunching leaves under foot. I love apple cider and pumpkins and Halloween. But fall is not my favorite season for several reasons, the biggest of which is that after autumn comes winter! Every week at soccer games we get colder and colder where in the spring we may have few chilly games but they progressively get warmer and warmer. Another thing that we dislike about fall is that we end up with at least 20 tons of leaves carpeting our lawn that we have to rake up. Luckily I've escaped that chore this year because we've had two boys that were wanting to earn a little cash. Anyway, after one of the biggest raking sessions of the season we went out and took a few photos of the kids. This pile was a little deeper than it looked so you can barely see Kaya sitting in the middle of it.

Once we got her to stand up in the pile it worked out better.

Poor little Spencer had spent the week holed up inside with a terrible case of the flu. He stood at the window watching all the kids playing in the leaves. When I went back inside he was very sad that he didn't get a picture in the leaf pile either. So we brought him out for a turn.

He's really trying hard to look "not sick" in this picture. He was opening his eyes wider than I had seen in days so that I would think he was just fine. But shortly after the picture was taken he asked to go back in to the couch. Poor kid. (This flu is a complete nightmare!)